By Tony Hallett, 25 January 1999 18:23
NEWS The Automobile Association (AA) and BT have heralded the success of a virtual call centre trial that has been running for the past year. The AA said that in order to meet demand, especially during busy periods, it has started letting call centre agents work from home. Staff are supplied with regulation office furniture, a PC, and a voice and data connection to the company's Leeds call centre. Phil Murden, BT account director, Retail & Logistics, said: "We have effectively taken the application out of the call centre and delivered it into the home, enabling remote agents to take calls at any time." The AA employs about 2,000 agents at four call centres in the UK, dealing with emergency roadside requests, membership applications, insurance, publishing and driving school queries. The pilot scheme, which was launched in response to peaks of demand at certain times and during bad weather, started with just 10 agents. It increased to 25 by August last year. A spokeswoman for the AA said the trial had improved efficiency and proved popular with participating staff. "Most of them don't want to come back in," she said. "We made sure that before getting the go-ahead, a thorough health and safety check was carried out, in the same way as in any office." She said the company is considering expanding the role teleworking plays in its business. BT information about teleworking can be found at http://www.wfh.co.uk
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